Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We must be close to an election with this type of heated debate becoming evident. I ask the Leader to arrange for a debate on credit unions. There was a commitment in the programme for Government for something to be done on how credit unions operate. I presume the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Fleming, who has responsibility for credit unions, will soon publish a draft Government policy on credit unions.

Credit unions are seeking various outcomes. They want to do community banking, which would be a great asset to them. They want levies on credit unions abolished because they see them as a form of tax. A good debate could take place in the House on how credit unions could move forward and provide community banking. They already provide great services to local communities, including funding for the lower class. In some towns, they are the only banking service, as I have seen in Ballyhaunis in County Mayo. First Choice Credit Union in Castlebar has taken over the services at Ballyhaunis, Achill and Swinford, providing the banking or credit union services there. Ballyhaunis has no bank at all because the last facility, an Ulster Bank branch, closed. It is a sizeable town and has some of the largest processing industries in the country but the only form of banking it now has is provided by the credit union. I hope the Leader will provide in a timely fashion for a debate on credit unions.